Of Angel Feathers and Moonbeams
by TheParadox675
Summary: Alva just lost her husband on a raid, Athelstan lost his home to the same raid. The two meet, and discover that sometimes something lost can be turned into something gained.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! My name is Hannah and I'm the authoress of this story! I usually write in 3rd person, so I'm sorry if this is a little hard to follow. It's also my first Vikings fanfic, so there's that. Please feel free to review and leave constructive criticism. Please, I need it. I'm going to try to update as often as possible, so please enjoy! I do not own Vikings or any characters I use except for those who do not show up in the original canon.**

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I stand on a cliff, alone. The ships are making their way into the fjord, and even from my perch on the faraway rocks, I can hear the villagers in Kattegat cheering. I smile widely; My husband is home. My smile quickly fades however, when I realize what news I have to tell him. That he does not have a son. Or any child for that matter. We had tried the night before he left on the raid, just like we've tried a hundred times before, but as usual, I am not with child. I'm beginning to believe that I cannot have any. Maybe I've been cursed.

I turn quickly and begin to make my way down to the village. The cheers grow almost deafening as I draw closer, almost bounding down the steep slope. However, they died down quickly as people retreated into the hall. Stepping over a medium-sized rock, I trot to the hall with the others.

Calder, my husband, is nowhere to be found. I just can't find him. I've asked twelve separate men, including Ragnar Lothbrok's brother, Rollo, and all they do is look at each other, then shrug. I'm almost done looking for him, if he wants to come home later, he can, but I will not go searching for him like a lost puppy.

"Sorry Alva." Another one says, this one didn't go on the raid, so his lack of knowledge is understandable.

"No matter." I reply, backing up. I bump into a giant of a man, and am swept up by the people mingling, waiting for the Jarl to begin speaking. The vast, dark room is filled with villagers, I can barely move without bumping into another person. Eventually, I am bounced backward into a captured man with dark hair, who mumbles an apology before being pulled along. I'm usually not so clumsy, there's just too many people in the room to move properly.

I decide to stand in one place before I hurt someone, like myself. Turning myself toward the Jarl, I nervously finger a lock of my blonde hair. Tuning the men out, I examine the room.

I know every crevice of it, but I really don't care who gets what property, so the only alternative is to stand quietly and look around. I can't see much over the heads of the others around me, but I can make out the torches lining the wall, and the roof looks sturdy, far better than the one on our farm. I'll have to remind Calder to fix ours. Suddenly, I hear a collective rumbling from the others in the room.

I try to get a look at what happened, but all I see is Ragnar pulling the captive I ran into toward the door by a rope. Each man after that leaves with a piece of either gold or silver. The hall clears out quickly, and the fresh air washes over me like a cool wave of seawater. I search around for Calder once more

"Excuse me?" A voice says behind me, and I turn to face the woman.

"Yes?"

"Are you Alva?" She asks quietly. I don't know why she's so meek.

"Yes. You are Ingrid?" I reply, I'm certain she is. I've seen her before. Nervously, she winds her finger in a fiery curl and knits her eyebrows together.

"Yes, I am. My husband said yours is..." She trails off, murmuring the last word or two so quietly that I cannot make it out.

"Where? He is where?" I grip her arm lightly.

"Dead" She whispers sadly, looking down at the hem of her dress. The word means nothing to me at first, but slowly, as I realize what she has said, it begins to carry more weight.

"What?" My world is crumbling down around me, and I don't believe it, I don't want to believe it. Calder is dead. He's gone and I'm a widow. We married only two years ago, and now he's dead.

"I know. I'm sorry." Ingrid pulls me close, wrapping her skinny arms around me. I don't move. "I truly believe he went to Valhalla." I nod sadly, pulling away.

"Thank you for telling me." I whisper, holding back the tears. We exchange our goodbyes, and I begin the long trek home.

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**I'm sorry it's so short, the next one will be longer, I promise. Please, don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there! Hannah again with the second chapter. I just want to thank all of you who followed this story, it means an awful lot to me and I can't thank you enough. I obviously do not own any characters I use except for Alva.**

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I can't cry. I've been trying since I found out, but the tears won't come. It's been three days. Shouldn't I be happy for him? He fights in Valhalla now, far less miserable there than I am here.

"Don't worry, love." He would've said. Well, how can I not worry now? He is gone, and I am alone on the farm... The farm! How will I tend it alone? It was a day's work for the both of us, how will I take on both his work and my own? Widows can manage their own property, but there isn't enough time in a day for me to properly grow crops, feed the animals, fish, slaughter an animal for meat, make bread, wash the clothes, weave, and make myself food. Plus, I need to bathe sometime, I can't run around looking like an animal while everybody else manages to keep themselves neat!

I could get a slave. But how? I couldn't afford it. Besides, I wouldn't know where to start, ordering someone around. I've never had a slave and thus would be a rather poor owner. I remember the captive I ran into the day I found out about Calder's death, would Calder approve of putting somebody through that? Yes, I think he would. I know I'm not opposed to it.

Since Calder died, could I reclaim my dowry? That would give me enough to support myself while I grieved and remarried. Or not, my dowry wasn't that much.

I sigh, kicking the furs off myself and standing up, rising from the sleeping mat. It's dark, but I feel my way around and eventually find my shift lying on the floor. I quickly slip it on, followed by the top layer. I plait my hair as fast as I can in the darkness, then walk outside barefoot.

The moon is merely a sliver tonight, but it's beams shine bright. They seem to wash over me, cleansing me of my fears and chasing the worries away. I close my eyes and imagine Calder standing behind me, maybe wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face into the crook of my neck. I can almost feel his ghostly lips against my throat, almost feel him pulling me closer. But then he is gone. Swept away as if by the wind. I open my eyes once again and return to the dark reality that crept up on me so quickly.

I sigh once more, then pad inside, catching one last glimpse of the moon as I close the door. Once I lay down, I have the most peaceful sleep I've had for three days.

The next day is hard. I have to feed the animals, I fumble constantly while tending the crops, and the many buckets of water I have had to lug from the river to the fields have taken their toll on my back, plus, I still need to fix my roof.. I realize that this is my new life. Maybe I should remarry... No, not yet. I'm still mourning Calder. I should put this decision off, there are more important things, like how I still need a little help with the roof, otherwise it's going to leak more than it has been. The nearest farm belongs to Ragnar Lothbrok. I wonder if I could borrow his son for a while to help me out. Well, it's better than nothing.

Taking a quick break, I wipe my grimy hands on my apron. I figure that I'm doing wash tomorrow anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I dirty it up a bit. I begin climbing down the ladder propped against the house; Or I would, if the third rung down hadn't snapped under my weight and sent me tumbling down. I hit the ground with a heavy thump, and end up sprawled on my back. This it, the last straw that breaks my back, I finally cry, sitting up and shouting a few choice words before burying my face in my hands and wailing even louder. It feels so good, this release of emotion, the pent-up sadness and rage that are finally able to leave my body and dissipate into the air. I don't know how long I'm screaming and crying, but it's several minutes at least.

"Are you alright?" I hear from above me. Looking up, I see the lean frame of Lagertha, a famous shield-maiden, and Ragnar's wife. She looks genuinely concerned. I nod quickly, drawing myself up to my full height. Even now, she's taller than me."It sounded like somebody was dying."

"No, I'm fine, thank you though." I say, wiping my eyes with one hand.

"Are you sure?"

I stay silent. because I'm not sure, but I won't admit it to her.

"Come, you will join us for supper." She grabs my left arm and lightly tugs me forward.

"Why?" It's a nice gesture, but I don't want to intrude on her family.

"You are upset. It would be wrong of me to abandon you." She then begins to pull me along toward her home.

When we get there, the house is empty except for the daughter, Gyda, who stands at the loom tightening a weave. She hears the door close and swivels her head. Upon noticing me looking at her, she grins brightly, then looks at her mother.

"I put a new log in the fire."

Lagertha lets my arm go and strides across the house to where her daughter stands.

"Thank you." She says, lightly kissing the child on the top of the head. Gyda smiles and begins weaving again.

"Your home is nice." I comment. It really is, everything's neat, and despite the darkness, it has a friendly feel about it. In one spot, the fire rages on, and I can see the eels cooking. I decide that I'm not lowering their food quantity, because there are plenty to share. Somebody must like to have multiple in one sitting.

She smiles slightly "Thank you"

I hear footsteps behind me, then the door opens.

"Lagertha," A voice says behind me, and I turn around to find Ragnar standing in the door, smiling boyishly with Bjorn at his side. Bjorn holds a white rabbit in the air and grins. Lagertha chuckles and takes the rabbit from her son.

"Hello Alva." Ragnar claps me on the back as he passes by, and one corner of Bjorn's mouth turns up ever so slightly in what I take to be a greeting. Calder and I have tried to be amicable with the Lothbrok family, since they were fairly close and they've helped us out of many binds.

"Hello." I chirp with as much joy as I can muster. I'm not going to be rude.

Ragnar sits in a chair, then stares at me levelly. His icy blue eyes seem to bore right into my soul. He knows I'm still upset, he can see it. It's not easy to keep a secret from Ragnar Lothbrok.

"I'm sorry about Calder." He says, picking at the table. I see Gyda tense up slightly, I freeze. What do I say now? If I say it's alright, that sounds like I don't care, but if I say nothing, it's rude.

I begin my sentence slowly. "Yes, well, we all die at some point. It's my job as his wife to let him go."

The room falls silent, and you could cut the tension with a knife. Ragnar says nothing to amend the awkward situation, he just smiles slightly and continues to pick at the table. I look away. Gyda speaks first.

"Mother?" Lagertha looks up from the rabbit, which she had begun skinning.

"Yes?"

"How do you change the colours again?" Lagertha chuckles, and rises from her spot, bloody hands and all.

The door opens once more, and the captive man breezes by me, leaning against the table and whispering to Ragnar, who shakes his head.

"I already did it. Sit." The man nods and complies. By now I figure it's alright to sit, so I plop myself next to Bjorn.

"So Bjorn," I start "Where'd you get that rabbit?"

"Behind the house." Then I see his arm ring.

"Congratulations." I say, pointing at the metal band, and he smiles.

"Thank you."

When dinner is ready, I end up having to move, apparently the Lothbroks are very particular about their seating arrangement. I quickly learn that the captive man is called Athelstan, and he was a monk from England. The family has taken to calling him by only the word 'priest'

"So Alva," Lagertha says, taking one more bite into the eel. "How are you doing?"

"With what?"

"Managing the farm alone, you looked like you were having difficulty earlier."

"I am" I say. "It's especially hard doing the tasks I've never had to do, I can't get it all done. I thought about getting a-" I look at Athelstan, who is oddly fixated on his eel, and decide that maybe I should refrain from mentioning the slave thing. "I thought about getting an ewe, but I can't afford it."

"Well, I've been looking to expand my farmland, what about taking over yours?"

Athelstan looks up abruptly, opening his mouth as if to say something, then thinks better of it.

I laugh nervously. "What?"

"What about taking over your farmland since you can't manage it properly?"

"Where would she live?" Gyda inquires

"Yeah, where would we put her?" Bjorn jokes.

"In here! She could help your mother and Gyda with their work, and in return, she'd live here."

"That's another mouth to feed." Lagertha counters

"But more animals and crops to feed it with."

"What about my house? Couldn't I just live there?" He's getting ahead of himself. Although, it's not like I'd actually like to stay in a house where traces of Calder haunt me at every turn.

"Or, we could let the animals live there." Ragnar grins, biting into his eel. I sigh.

"Fine." Well, it's not like I wanted to keep it anyway.

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** I know that this probably will get Alva labelled a mary-sue, but I promise that this has a purpose. It is necessary to have her living with them for a later plot point. Several later plot points actually. If any of these characters were way off in characterization, or if Alva is being unbearable, please tell me. I am completely willing to tweak my characterization of any character. So please, don't forget to review! See you next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, Hannah's back! I'm sorry it took so long, I got really sick, but, I want to thank you all for continuing to read this, it means so much to me. Also, thank you to all those who have followed the story, I'll list their names at the end of the chapter. I do not own anything except the characters I made up. Enjoy!**

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I stare at the ceiling. Nobody else is awake yet, from what I can tell anyway, I don't hear anybody. These last weeks have been beneficial, I'm feeling better; There's no knot in the pit of my stomach, no fears linger in my mind. The only thing left is the ongoing sadness from Calder's death, but even that has begun to subside and be replaced by the joy of knowing that he is with Odin in Valhalla, preparing for Ragnarök. I roll over, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds of the early morning. A raven gives out its deep throaty croak, this is followed by a soft whispering sound that I hadn't noticed before actually listening. It sounds like Gyda. A slightly deeper voice responds to her, and I realize that Bjorn is talking to her. That means it's time to get up, as the children like to wake us in the mornings.

I look over and quickly realize that it's not only the children who are awake. Athelstan's left, hopefully to start work and not run away. I don't want him dead.

I don't know why, but he's different from us, Athelstan I mean. I haven't asked why, but I can tell that something's queer. He stays up until late in the night, whispering in a strange tongue, praying I suppose, but definitely not to the gods. He reads from a leather-bound book, and wears a pendant around his neck that doesn't look familiar. He's strange, but he's nice to talk to at least. Calm and easy to tell things to. He already knows about Calder and my struggle to have children. He's a lifesaver because he gets it. He knows what it's like to have your world suddenly shattered, and that makes it easy for me to relate to him.

"Alva?" A voice calls from across the room, I identify it's owner immediately.

"Gyda?"

"Oh, it is you. Are you getting up for the day?"

"Yes." I smile.

"Will you help me with wash today? Mother said she'll be a bit busy with something." Gyda finishes.

"Of course." I reply, rising to start the fire.

During breakfast however, it becomes clear that Lagertha will be busy for a while. A long while.

"I want you to come with me." Ragnar says to her, after informing us of how the Jarl gave approval for him to go sailing west again.

"Bjorn is too young."

"Father" Bjorn begins, "Who will be in charge?"

The response is the dangerous part, you see if it's Bjorn in charge, Bjorn would be happy, but he's not ready to lead a family for however long the raid lasts. If it is myself, Bjorn is angry and I am also incapable of maintaining a household.

"Athelstan is in charge."

"_What?_" Bjorn starts, standing up and glaring at his father, his eyes seem to shoot ice at him. "You cannot place a _slave _before _me! _I am your son!" I have to bite my tongue. Not only is Athelstan at the table with us, listening, but Bjorn is disrespecting his father.

Bjorn flares his nostrils a bit, then sits down, grumbling.

"The Priest is not just our slave, he is responsible and will be watching you while we are gone."

Athelstan stands from his place at the table, looking Ragnar in the eye. I take note of his facial expression, like a child's. He looks petrified, like Ragnar had said he would be in charge of the whole of a kingdom.

"Ragnar Lothbrok, no, I cannot-"

Ragnar turns to Gyda "What do you think?"

She smiles joyfully. "I do not mind. I like The Priest."

Ragnar walks to Gyda's side, kissing her hair. "It is decided then."

I watch Athelstan slump back into his chair. He looks down slightly, trying to avoid eye contact with us all. I don't understand, nobody would've denied leading the household, I know I wouldn't be able to lead the household, but I still would've accepted the opportunity. Even Gyda would've done it, but he actually denied this chance.

Lagertha strides over to Athelstan, leaning down and whispering harshly. I lean forward slightly, trying to make out what she is saying. I catch the ending.

"... Family, I will rip your lungs from your body Priest." Athelstan goes pale and his eyes widen. Then Ragnar and Lagertha leave, presumably to begin preparations. I lean across the table and pat the back of Athelstan's hand. He looks at me quickly, and I smile slightly.

"It'll be alright Athelstan." I whisper, and Bjorn raises his eyebrows. Athelstan nods and reaches for the foreign pendant he wears.

Once we begin work, the day goes by much faster. Gyda and I make our way down to the river and begin washing. We talk about everything and anything. With Gyda, nothing's off limits. At one point, we get into a discussion about the colour green and how much she likes it. Then I have to ask it, because I've wondered since breakfast.

"Gyda, are you really okay with Athelstan being in charge?"

"Of course. I like him. Bjorn hates him though." She says casually, wringing out a pair of Bjorn's trousers.

"I noticed."

"Do you like him?" She asks.

"Why wouldn't I? He hasn't wronged me."

She shrugs, "Just curious."

I decide to change the subject. "Your parents will be away for a long time. Are you nervous?"

"No. With you three around, I'll be safe." She sets a tunic aside. The wash is almost done now, there's just one of my shifts and Gyda's apron left. I take my shift and plop it in the water. I look at her sideways, studying her posture. She's hunched over the water, almost tipped forward. As a joke, I reach one hand out and lightly knock her off-balance. She screams and catches herself, hands and wrists landing under the surface of the river. Smiling mischievously, she dips her hand into the water. When I take my eyes off her for just a second to turn the shift over, it gives her an opportunity... To splash me square in the face. I squeal loudly, look at her, mouth agape, and slowly feel my expression morph into a smile. She throws her head back and laughs so hard she snorts. I shake my head and go back to washing.

I'm just wringing the shift out when I feel her wrap her arms around my middle and pull me forward. I shriek and land face first in the water, then splash her. We play like this for a while, until the both of us are completely drenched and we're chasing each other in the water. This is why I always wanted children. Being twenty years old and having all the responsibilities of an adult is hard. Children get to play and have fun once their work is done. Adults just get more work. But eventually, despite the glee and weightlessness playing with Gyda brings, we do still have to set the laundry out to dry. It's time to be an adult again.

"Alright, come on. We have to set the laundry out."

Gyda nods, picking up one end of the woven basket filled with wet clothes. I clamber out of the water and grip the other end, helping her carry it sideways up to the house. We hang the laundry as quickly as possible. Gyda wants to practice weaving.

"We should begin praying to Odin for Mother and Father's safe return. I fear for them."

"We will begin tonight." I say, hanging up yet another tunic.

"Thank you for your help with the wash."

"My pleasure." I say, smiling and she giggles a bit.

We finish hanging the laundry and I send Gyda inside. I take a deep breath, following her.

"What happened?" Lagertha asks.

"We fell in."

Then supper comes. Bjorn still sulks, and Athelstan meekly bows his head and stays silent. Ragnar tries to keep up a conversation, but every time he tries, it falls flat quickly. So we all pick at our food and stay quiet. Slowly, we all begin to get tired, so the children hop into bed first, I throw a log in the fire, and Lagertha and Ragnar give each other cheeky smiles from across the room. Athelstan kneels on his sleeping mat and begins to pray as I bury myself in my furs in an attempt to fall asleep before Ragnar and Lagertha go at it. If I fall asleep in time, hopefully I'll stay asleep.

No such luck. I never actually manage to get to sleep before the sounds start. I should ignore them and just cover my ears...That doesn't block them out enough though. I let out a quiet groan and throw the furs off. Athelstan kneels in the other corner, still trained on that book. I roll off the mat and walk to his side, leaning against the wall. He looks up at me and gives a small grin.

"Can't sleep?"

"I'd be surprised if anyone could."

"The children are asleep." He points out

"Well they are obviously not human." This earns me a crooked half-smile and low laugh from Athelstan "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Go ahead." He says, so I sit, pulling my knees to my chest.

"I'm not interrupting anything right?" Almost as if shocked that I asked, he looks down at his book, then at me, biting his lip. It occurs to me that he hasn't been able to have a true say in much since he got here, it's not as if he can say no to any orders he may get, no matter how kind his owners are.

"It's fine. I'll wait." I smile at him in an effort to put him at ease. Then patiently sit there as he continues his prayers.

I actually have time to pray to Odin for Ragnar and Lagertha's safety. Then I stare at the fire, pretending not to listen to him doing his prayers. How long are they anyway? Or is he doing multiple in a row? Either way, it seems to take forever. I guess I don't mind too much though, it's nice listening to him talk, his voice isn't harsh or demanding, it's softer than Calder's was, Even Calder's whispers could be heard from across a room.

The light begins to dim as the fire dies down, finally prompting Athelstan to finish. He closes his book and tucks it in a small nook. I search for a topic quickly, I came to talk, so I should talk.

"Why do they call you Priest?"

He looks at me, then down at his hands. "I was a Christian monk at Lindisfarne when the raids came around."

"Christian?" The term is vaguely familiar, I think a man came once to try to convert people, but I never managed to get information about what it actually was.

Then Athelstan launches into these stories. Stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and his ark, Sampson with his long hair, David fighting the giant Goliath, Angels, the Devil, Moses, and finally we get to one that seems to be both his favorite and his least favorite: The story of Jesus Christ.

I learn about how Jesus was the son of Athelstan's god, how his mother was a virgin, how he could heal the sick, and bring the dead to life. and then we get to the part where the Romans kill him.

"Crucifixion?"

Athelstan nods, "Remember Judas?"

"Yes."

"He betrayed Jesus, and the Romans arrested him. But when sentencing time came around, the man sentencing him saw no reason to kill him, and Jesus was almost set free."

"Almost?"

Nodding once more, he finishes the story. "The crowd wanted him dead, and Jesus was sentenced to death. They whipped him, forced him to wear a crown of thorns, and he was taken to the site with two criminals, then the three were nailed to their respective crosses." He gestures to the pendant on his necklace. "After the sixth hour, it went dark until the ninth hour, and Jesus said 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' Those were his last words."

"Is that the ending?" I ask, I don't want it to be, Athelstan is so passionate about them. I consider him a friend, and I like seeing him happy, his face lights up as if he just heard the best news in the world. So no matter how little I believe in these stories, I would listen all night just to see my friend happy.

"No, you see, Jesus came back to life and said that those who believe and are baptized will go to heaven-"

"The paradise you mentioned earlier." I say

"Right, and those who do not believe and were not baptized will go to hell" It seems wrong that just because I believe in my gods, and not Jesus, Athelstan's god would get angry and decide to throw me in fire for all eternity, but I can't exactly change Athelstan's beliefs. So I don't even bother debating it.

I yawn loudly. Ragnar and Lagertha finished forever ago, and I'm exhausted.

"I liked hearing your stories Athelstan. Goodnight my friend." I rise, using his shoulder as support. Then I see his bald spot, which while starting to grow over, is still pretty visible. It reminds me that I never asked him about it.

"By the way, why do you have this?" I trace the outline with my forefinger to show what I'm talking about.

"It's to show my devotion to God."

I nod thoughtfully. "Thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

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**If I messed up the Christ story, tell me and I will be happy to fix it. I will also be happy to change the characterization of any character if it's off, or in Alva's case, if she's getting too mary-suesque.**

** I'm sorry for lack of Bjorn. I don't really know what to do with him, I can't write him without making him sound like a spoiled brat. So if anybody's willing to give pointers, I would be so grateful. **

**Obviously a lot of the dialogue from the show is paraphrased, I didn't want to spend too much time on dialogue you've all experienced before, so I just tried to get the basic feeling of the scene, and quoted where convienient. And like I promised, here's the followers! Even if you're not following, I hope to see you next chapter!**

**Ain'tEasyBeingBreezy**

**Honey4me**

**Littledot**

**Luronda**

**amdurrant**

**gabbylarson**

**lucy62**

**punxzr0xz89**


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